


Unexpected

by inkahgase



Category: Christian Yu
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-01-04 10:42:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21196352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkahgase/pseuds/inkahgase
Summary: I apologise for the long wait! I am intending to finish the story so hopefully the gap between the next few chapters isn't as big as the last one :)





	1. 1

You took a deep breath and knocked before entering Christian’s apartment, hoping not to walk in to the same sight you’ve witnessed for the past three weeks. Once you crossed the threshold however, you realised how wrong you were. There were empty takeout boxes, empty beer bottles and paper strewn on the floor everywhere you looked. Sighing, you grabbed a black trash bag from under his kitchen sink and started your weekly clean up, cursing out your cousin Dabin at the same time.

When he informed you that Christian needed an assistant all those years ago, this was not what you signed up for. However, you realised that you were doing this out of duty as his good friend and not as his assistant, after a friendship blossomed between the both of you from working together for all these years.

“What are you doing?” Christian asked as he exited his bedroom in nothing more than a towel wrapped around his lower half, fresh from a shower. Most girls would’ve drooled from the sight, but this wasn’t something you haven’t seen before.

“Something you should be doing,” you scoffed, looking away to hide the blush that tinted your cheeks. You were still a woman after all. “Will you please put some clothes on?”

“You don’t need to do any of this and I was about to put some clothes on before I heard all this commotion.”

“I may not need to do it, but I _have _to do it. You can’t keep living like this forever, Christian. It’s been three weeks. Maybe, it’s time to let her go.”

_Her._ Soyeon. Christian’s ex-girlfriend.

She broke up with him three weeks ago after being together for three years, citing that their relationship had run its course. She couldn’t see them going anywhere, feeling that all he cared about was his job and his friends. She wanted to get married and have kids, all things Christian also wanted but it didn’t look like their timing matched.

He was devastated. He was so in love with her and couldn’t see a future with anybody else so he tried to talk her out of it, wanting her to give him a chance to change. Sadly, she declined. None of you had any issues with her; she was always very kind and polite to all of you. So, it had been a shock when you found out that she wasn’t willing to give him that.

“You know I can’t do that,” Christian smiled wistfully. “Besides, I have one last idea left. One thing I know would work for sure. I was actually going to talk to you about it because I need your help with pulling it off.”

“Well, you know I’m always willing to help,” you replied. “Just, please put some clothes on first. I don’t want to have to talk about this while staring at your chest.”

Christian wriggled his eyebrows at you, teasing. You rolled your eyes, throwing a tea towel directly at his face before going back to your clean up.

* * *

“Is this a joke?” you asked, half an hour later as you sat on the now clean couch in the living room.

“It really isn’t,” Christian assured you.

“It has to be. Where are the fucking cameras? Is Dabin hiding out in your room, ready to come out and yell out ‘_you’ve been punked_’?”

“I’m dead serious.”

You looked at him dead in the eye and knew he was telling the truth. “Christian, you can’t be serious? You and I? Fake Dating?”

“Think about it,” he pleaded. “You can help me showcase to her that I am a changed man and that she should want me back. Plus, you get something out of it, too.”

You sat there for a few moments, trying to think of how this would benefit you but came up with nothing. Christian rolled his eyes. “You really can’t think of anything?” he asked surprised. “I can take you shopping. Take you to dinner. Take you to the movies. Be a date for an event you have or something.”

You saw a million things wrong with this scenario. First, was the fact that you would be lying to everyone you knew and you weren’t sure you could live with that. Second, was the fact that you actually had to date Christian; albeit fake dating, you still had to go on actual dates with him and had to act as a couple.

Then the last reason, which you pointed out to him. “Say, it works and she wants you back,” you told him. “Do you really think she would pursue a taken man?”

Christian sat there and thought about it for a few moments which you were grateful for because you were hoping that it would talk him out of this crazy idea. “I think she would pursue me,” he concluded much to your dismay. “Then, I’ll just tell her the truth. That this was all fake just to get her to see I’ve changed.”

“Yes, but would she be fine with that? With you lying?”

“Why wouldn’t she be? My intentions are pure.”

“You’re still lying.” you begged for him to understand but from the look on his face, you knew he wasn’t done trying to convince you. Luckily, a text message from your parents, asking you to meet with them urgently, saved you.

“I have to go. My parents apparently need me.”

Christian furrowed his eyebrows in concern. “Is everything okay?”

“I’m not sure,” you sighed before heading to the door. “Christian, if you really want to do this then go for it. I just can’t help you with it, I’m sorry.”

“You said you were always willing to help,” he reminded you with a pout and you almost caved in. _Almost_.

“I know, but you’re asking too much of me.”

Christian approached, placing both his hands on your shoulders. “All I’m asking is for you to consider it. Please.”

Nodding, you closed the door behind you, drowning out whatever protest he was about to throw at you.

Christian stood there, staring at the door you’ve shut in his face. He decided that this was the last time he was going to allow that to happen. He was determined as he always was.

You should’ve known that he wasn’t going to give this up.


	2. 2

_Fake dating? He must be crazy._

The thought ran circles in your mind as you made your way to your family home. You still couldn’t believe it. Christian really wanted you to consider fake dating him. The idea in itself was not a bad one, he could certainly show Soyeon how much he’d changed by dating someone else, you just couldn’t fathom why he’d chosen you.

As you pulled up to your parents’ driveway, you shook your head and pushed those thoughts to the back of your mind. You had more pressing matters at hand. Something about this invitation made you feel uneasy and your gut feeling was proven correct when your sister Hana opened the door.

“What are you doing here?” you asked when you reached the front door. “If I had known you’d be here then I wouldn’t have bothered.”

“That’s not any way to greet your sister,” she scoffed at you. “I know you wouldn’t have come and that is why I asked Mom to send you the message. We have matters to discuss.”

“Whatever it is, I don’t want anything to do with it.”

Turning on your heels, you made your way back to your car, only stopping when your mother called out your name.

“Please, come inside,” your mother pleaded. Feeling sorry for her, you nodded and made your way back in.

Neither of your parents knew why you and Hana drifted apart especially when the two of you were inseparable as kids. You’ve always wanted to tell them the reason so that they would stop trying to reconcile your relationship but Hana had valuable information on you that she always held above your head which meant you were always forced to follow her orders.

Heading your way to the dining room where your family meetings were normally held, you found yourself frozen on the spot at seeing the familiar man already waiting at the table. Clenching your fists by your side in an attempt to stop the shakes that wracked your body, you closed your eyes and willed for him to disappear.

“It’s been a long time,” the man greeted you, flashing you a smile that made you want to hurl. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Hyunsik,” you spat out. “I can’t say that I feel the same.”

“Play nice,” Hana sneered in your ear before she took her place next to him. “You’re speaking to your future brother-in-law after all.”

Hana slid a white envelope across the table and you picked it up with trembling fingers. Turning it over, you spotted your name at the front along with the words ’_and gues_t’. You didn’t need to open it to know what it contained.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” you replied, sliding the envelope back to your sister. “I don’t want any part of this.”

Hana scoffed. “You actually think you have a part in this? You’re not that special. I’m only inviting you because Mother asked me to.”

“Honey,” Hyunsik cooed at your sister and you really almost hurled this time. “Play nice.”

You watched in horror as the two of them smiled lovingly at each other before making out right in front of you. Rolling your eyes, you turned to leave until you bumped into your mother in the hallway.

“I’m not sure where it all went wrong,” you mother smiled sadly as she grabbed your hands. “You both refuse to tell me. I have to accept that now because you’re both adults. You don’t have to tell me things anymore. I just want to ask one thing of you.”

You shook your head and stared at your joined hands. “Ma, please don’t ask me to do this.”

“I must. All I ask is that you attend all the family events leading up to the wedding and the actual wedding celebration itself. That’s it. If you still don’t want to make up with her after that, your father and I will not force it anymore. If you just do this one last thing for us. Please.”

She produced the invitation from behind her and carefully placed it in your hands. The urge to rip it all to shreds was high but one look at your mother and you knew you’ve lost. She always did know how to win her battles.

“This is the last,” you pleaded with her. “Please, understand what you’re asking of me. I can’t do anymore after this. I wish I can tell you why but I can’t. It’s not up to me. So, I will do this one last thing and that’s it.”

Your mother engulfed you in her arms, thanking you over and over again. Against your will, you pried her away, knowing that you’re close to a full on breakdown if you didn’t leave in the next second. Bidding you farewell, she walked you back to your car.

“Will you be okay to drive?” your mother asked worriedly.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” you told her, flashing her the biggest smile you could muster before driving home.

* * *

Christian scrambled off of his bed as fast as he could — almost pushing Lori off — as soon as he heard your voice cry out for him. He skidded to a halt in the living room when he spotted you sitting on the floor, head down as sobs wracked your body. The only time he’s ever seen you like this was when you told him that your ex—

“I’ll do it,” you sobbed out and looked up at him. The sight in front of him breaking his heart. “I’ll fake date you.”

Christian approached slowly, gently wrapping his arms around you and cradled you in his arms. “Hush, we can talk about that later,” he rubbed your back soothingly, hoping to calm you down. “What’s going on? Is everything okay with your parents?”

You nodded. “My sister is getting married.”

Confused, Christian cupped your face and made you look up at him. “That’s what’s gotten you this upset?”

Shaking your head, the truth almost slipped out of your lips but you held them back just in time, opting for a little white lie. “I found out she invited my ex.”

“What a bitch. I know you said you weren’t cool but that is a bitch move.”

“She-uhh-doesn’t know that he’s my ex.” Another lie. You saw the gears in his head turning so you hurried to change the subject. “It’s too late to uninvite him.”

“That’s why you’re agreeing to fake date?”

“Your offer still stands right?”

Christian nodded. Using his strength, he lifted you up and sat you down on the sofa. “Are you sure about this?” he asked. “You’re really emotional right now and I don’t want you to regret it. I can give you more time to consider it?”

Shaking your head, you assured him that this was what you wanted to do. You’re willing to help him if he’s willing to help you. 

“Stay here,” he instructed before he made his way to the kitchen. “I’ll make us some tea and we can go over some details before committing. Deal?”

“Deal."


	3. 3

Christian pulled the blanket up, making sure that your body is under it to keep you warm. After your breakdown a few hours ago, he managed to get you to stay the night, not wanting you to drive home in the state you were in. He gently rubbed your furrowed brows to relax it and grabbed his phone from the nightstand as he headed to the couch.

Confused about everything that’s happened, he rubbed his face in frustration. He should’ve been happy that you finally agreed to help him since it’s what he wanted, but this wasn’t the way he wanted you to say yes. Especially when you looked so _broken_.

Just remembering your tear stricken face gave him the overwhelming feeling of wanting to hit something. Try as he might, he couldn’t get himself to calm down so he left to hit the gym. Deciding that he needed to get to the bottom of this, he scrolled through his contacts and called a friend.

“Dabin, you busy?” he asked, hoping to get more information about your situation.

Stifling a yawn, the younger answered, “just finishing up at the studio. What’s up?”

“Can you meet me at the gym? We need to talk.”

Laughter boomed from the other line. “Man, I told you she’d say no.”

“Actually, she said yes.” Christian laughed this time. He heard Dabin asking a dozen questions and decided to interrupt him. “I’ll tell you all about it when you get there. See you in a bit!”

* * *

Groans filled the weight room and he knew that Dabin finally arrived.

“Man, you know I hate working out,” the younger complained as he threw his bag on the floor.

“You’re not here to work out,” Christian grunted after finishing his current rep with the pull ups. “You’re here to supply me with information.”

Dabin pulled out a chip packet from his bag and busted it open as he relaxed on the mat. “Does this have something to do with my cousin agreeing to your proposal?”

“It does,” Christian answered as he sat across from his friend, stealing a chip from the packet. He sat there and told Dabin everything, from the moment he mentioned his proposal to the moment that you arrived in his apartment in a state.

“What the fuck?!” Dabin fumed. “Hana’s getting married? Holy shit, this is bad.”

Christian is left confused at Dabin’s reaction. A part of him felt that this would’ve been your reaction if you hadn’t been so upset. “Look, what is the big deal?” he finally asked. “I know they don’t get on, especially now that Hana invited her ex-boyfriend and—”

“Wait, that’s what she told you?” his friend asked incredulously. The question spoke volumes to Christian as he nodded. Now, he knew there was more to the story but he didn’t think Dabin would share it. He was proven right when Dabin stood up, chucking the now empty packet in the bin and grabbed his bag.

Christian was about to speak but Dabin beat him to it. “Look, it’s not my story to tell,” his friend sighed. “She will tell you when she’s ready. If there’s one thing I can tell you, it’s that you need to watch out for her. Please.”

Dabin’s words brought Christian back to the first time he found out about your ex two years ago. That day, they barged into your apartment after not hearing from you in a week. Multiple messages and phone calls left unanswered. Dabin was worried out of his mind so Christian went with him to check on you.

The sight they found you in was worse than what he had been going through now with his break up with Soyeon. Your place was completely trashed. Broken glass from picture frames littered the floor along with torn up photos of you and your boyfriend. Takeout boxes and wine bottles filled every space imaginable. They thought it couldn’t get any worse but they were wrong.

_Dabin spotted you first, passed out on your bed with a wine bottle in hand. Curses filled your apartment as he rushed to your side, shaking your limp body to rouse you. Christian arrived in your room just in time and witnessed you crying your heart out to Dabin. He remembered you saying, “Dabin, he— he cheated on me with my s—”_

Christian snapped out of his reverie when he heard Dabin call his name. “I asked you if you remembered what he looked like,” his friend repeated his unanswered question.

Like he could forget. That dickhead’s face was etched in his memories after seeing his face on the ripped photos he helped clean up that day. “I remember,” he confirmed.

Dabin sighed in relief. “Good. You need to watch out for him during family events. Knowing him, he’s going to try and pull something.”

“Wouldn’t we just see him on the actual wedding day?” Christian questioned confused.

“You’ll see him sooner than you think,” Dabin warned. “Look after her, yeah?”

* * *

Dabin left soon after Christian promised to watch out for you, and the latter soon headed home too. Christian hoped to gain answers by speaking to him but the only thing he gained was more questions. He was so in his head that he didn’t notice his surroundings, until he heard his name being called again.

“Soyeon,” he whispered as soon he saw who had wanted his attention. “What are you doing here?”

“I came here to ask you to stop sending me flowers,” she sighed, tapping her foot impatiently on the ground. “It’s becoming a problem for my boyfriend.”

“Good,” Christian laughed hollowly. “I want it to be a problem.”

Soyeon rolled her eyes. “Christian, I’m not coming back. Not even if he breaks up with me. You and I are done. I told you that.”

“I’ve changed,” he pleaded with her. “I just need you to give me a chance to show you that.”

“You haven’t changed at all,” Soyeon laughed bitterly. “You’re still the selfish bastard that you’ve always been.”

“I will prove it to you.”

“I doubt you could,” Soyeon replied with finality as she entered her car. “Goodbye, Christian. For the last time.”

Christian screamed out his frustrations before heading up to his apartment. Seeing Soyeon tonight reignited his determination to win her back. He wasn’t going to let her slip away, not a second time.

He entered his apartment and sat on his work bench, laptop opened to a blank work document. He took a deep breath to calm his mind and started meticulously planning his next move, silently praying that you don’t change your mind about the whole arrangement when you wake.

You both needed this to work.


	4. 4

Everything came back to you as you are woken from your slumber by wet licks to your face. Groaning, you buried your face into the pillow, but the licks just continued down to your neck.

“Okay, Lori,” you groaned and moved the dog’s face away from yours. “I’m up. I’m up. Let me freshen up and we can go find your dad. What do you say?”

“I’m right here,” Christian chuckled by your feet.

“How long have you been there?”

“Long enough to hear you snor—” Christian doesn’t get to finish speaking since his face was met by a pillow.

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” you warned him. “I still have that video of you talking in your sleep.”

The look on Christian’s face was pure gold, you wished you would’ve taken a photo of it. He rolled his eyes as you laughed and threw the pillow back at your face. As soon as you turned your head to face him, Christian knew he’d made a terrible mistake.

Blowing your hair away from your face, you made a move to roll your sleeves up. He slowly got up and held his hands up high as a sign of surrender. You grabbed the nearest pillow and stood up on his bed, pulling the soft material behind you as you got ready to whack him with it.

“Listen, let’s talk about this like civilised people,” he tried to dissuade you. “I’m sure there is something I can offer you that won’t result in a pillow to my face.”

“I’m waiting,” you prodded him.

“I’ll make you breakfast,” he offered. “I have pancakes and eggs.”

“I know you have bacon, too.”

Christian sighed, “okay, I have bacon, too.”

Relief washed over him as he watched you put the pillow back down on the bed. You got off the bed and made your way to his bathroom to freshen up. “It was nice doing business with you,” you smirked as you walked passed.

“I should fire you,” Christian rolled his eyes before handing you a bag of your clothes that you left at his place in case of emergencies. “Here’s your clothes.”

You laughed as you grabbed the bag off him. “You wouldn’t, even if you wanted to. Thank you for the clothes and breakfast.”

Christian chuckled to himself as he watched you disappear into the bathroom. You were right. He wouldn’t fire you even if he wanted to. You’d been a constant part of his life now, not just as his assistant but also as his friend, and he didn’t feel that he could function properly without you.

He scratched his head and wondered why he was suddenly feeling sentimental about you. Shaking it off, he headed to the kitchen and started on breakfast.

* * *

While the two of you sat and ate, Christian brought up the contract he had set up overnight regarding the whole fake dating scenario. However, he wanted to discuss your situation a bit more before he went through it. You shook your head vehemently and informed him that there was nothing more to tell. Deciding to let it go for the moment, he continued on with the discussion.

The contract was simple really. You were obligated to attend events that he was invited to, which wasn’t a problem since you were normally invited too. The only difference was that you would be his _date_. His other requirements included calling him various pet names in the presence of others and you had to let him take you out on actual dates from time to time so that the public could see you and talk about you. Otherwise, no one would know that you were dating and Soyeon would never hear about it.

Apart from the wedding, Christian was obligated to attend all the family events before that. Your requirements for him included having a new wardrobe reserved for these events and that he had to stick by your side at all times. You also needed him to chauffeur you around to the events that you had to attend that didn’t involve him. This was no issue for him.

Then, you spent some more time, going over each other’s schedules for the next couple of months. Both of you had something to gain from this so you had to ensure that the timing matched perfectly. Luckily, Hana was so excited to get married that you only had three months to wait. Christian felt that was just enough time to show Soyeon that he’d changed and it wouldn’t leave you in a lurch when the time to fake break up arrived.

“That’s all settled then,” you said once the discussion was finished. You grabbed the plates and started to clear them.

“I can do those,” Christian offered but you waved him off, explaining that it was a way to thank him for last night. “There’s one more thing we didn’t cover.”

“Hm? What’s that?”

“How we’re gonna handle the PDA.”

“Ahh,” you sighed once you’ve finished the dishes and turned to face him. “What are you expecting?”

“I should be able to at least hold your hand, put my arm around you… and kiss you.”

You sighed again. You knew this was coming. You’ve watched Christian’s relationships from the very beginning and knew that he had nothing against any form of public displays of affection. He was all for it, which meant that if anyone was to ever believe that the two of you were dating, it would mean that they would have to see you guys kiss as well.

“Our first event is tomorrow night,” Christian interrupted your wandering mind. “It’s Gray’s birthday celebration. She won’t be there but we need to start our story. So, I need to know how comfortable you will be.”

“I can be comfortable with it,” you replied to him. “I just need you to give me some sort of sign before you do it. Like, whisper in my ear or something?”

“How sexy of you,” he teased and you threw another tea towel at his face as he laughed.

“Ugh, we need to practice, don’t we?” you suddenly asked and Christian choked on his own saliva.

“What?”

“Well, it won’t be believable if we start making out and it looks awkward as hell.”

Christian knew you were right. “So, do we kiss right now? Or?” he asked, clearing his throat.

Rolling your eyes, you stalked over to him and positioned yourself between his legs. Christian held his breath as you stepped even closer to him and ran your hands up his toned arms and secured them around his neck. His trembling hands finally made its way to grip your hips and he managed to find the courage to look at your face.

And he almost wished he hadn’t.

“You good?” you asked worriedly, afraid you stepped out of line. Christian gazed at you with wide eyes, stiff as a board and you’re sure he’s stopped breathing. “Breathe, Christian. We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

“I want to,” he gulped and tried his best to relax. _What were you doing to him?_

Christian took a deep breath and brought your body closer to him as he leaned in to meet your waiting lips. Just as his lips were about to touch yours, the sound of his phone ringing ruined the moment and you both jumped away from each other.

“It’s Scott,” Christian sighed after getting off the phone. “He needs me at the office.”

“That’s okay,” you laughed as you put your shoes on. “I needed to head out anyway. It’s time I went back to my own house.”

“You need a ride?”

“On that death trap? No, thanks.”

Christian laughed, “don’t speak about my baby that way.”

You threw him a playful smirk as you made your way to the door. “Tomorrow, I’m gonna be your _baby_. Your _girl_. Please, pick me up in a car.”

His stomach stirred at the pet name. _What were you really doing to him?_ You were gone with a wave before he could even reply, leaving him standing there dumbfounded. He shook his head, grabbing his helmet and made his way to the office.

Little did they know, no amount of practice would have prepared them for what was coming.


	5. 5

Standing in front of the mirror, you wondered if what you were wearing was too much. Decked out in a little black dress, mid-thigh length that hugged you in all the right places, you were worried about how Christian would react. He hadn’t seen you like this before.

Even with all the parties you attended with him, you were usually dressed comfortably, opting for jeans and a loose top that barely revealed any skin. The complete opposite of what you were wearing now. But, you knew how Christian liked his women, so you opted to look the part.

As soon as you put on your red bottomed heels, a resounding knock announced Christian’s arrival.

“Hey, I’m just about ready,” you smiled at him when you opened the door. “I just have to quickly grab my purse.”

Christian stood there, rooted at the spot as he tried to register the image of you in front of him in his brain. You looked _incredible_, with your hair tousled to the side, exposing your neck and shoulders. The dress you were wearing showed off all of your curves and your heels accentuated your gorgeous pins.

“Are you okay?” you asked curiously, once you were back with your purse. Christian had been standing in the same position you left him with his mouth slightly ajar.

Christian shut his mouth and shook his head to wake himself up. “What’s all this?” he asked pointing at your outfit.

“Is it too much? It’s too much isn’t it?”

“You look _amazing_,” Christian chuckled. “It’s just not your usual get up.”

“I just wanted to look the part.”

Christian was thrown; sure he could admit that he did have a type, but he would never ask anyone to change for him if others happened to be different. “I hope you know that if we were dating for real, that I would never ask you to change.”

You smiled at him because you did know that. “I know,” you said and cupped his cheek. “Now, come on. We don’t want to be late.”

“Shall we?” he asked, offering you his arm which you gladly took.

* * *

Once you arrived at the venue and Christian held your hand, you knew that it was time to put the plan in motion. Looking up at him with a smile, you squeezed his hand in reassurance. Taking a deep breath, you walked through the doors hand in hand.

As expected, people were shocked at your entrance. Almost all eyes were on the both of you and you had to fight the urge to laugh. One look at Christian and you knew he felt the same way. Christian spotted Dabin at the bar and bee lined toward him with you in tow. He opted to drag you in front of him, placing his hands on your hips as he guided you through the crowd.

“It looks like the plan is working,” Dabin greeted you both as soon as you reached the bar. “People are curious. Though, you probably have to do more to keep them interested.”

Christian chuckled, “don’t worry. We have that covered.”

Before Dabin could utter his retort, someone arrived and demanded Christian’s attention so he thought he would quickly ask you the question he’d been dying to ask. “Why didn’t you tell him about Hyunsik?”

You knew this question was coming but you couldn’t prepare an answer for it. “I don’t know,” you sighed. “I want to tell him, I just don’t know when the right time is.”

Dabin tried to say something to convince you to speak to Christian but the man in question returned his attention to you so he bit his tongue. “We should go and find our seats,” he said instead. “The dinner will start soon.”

* * *

The dinner was going well. People were still staring and still wondering. Christian looked over to you as you chatted away with Gray who was across the table and thought that this was the perfect opportunity to execute his plan.

When he saw a break in your conversation, he went for it. Lifting his right arm, he wrapped it around your shoulders and brought you closer to him. You were shocked at first but did your best to recover when you felt him squeeze your arm. 

Christian leaned down and brought his lips close to your ear. “I’m going to kiss you,” he whispered, sending shivers down your spine.

Christian waited until you gave him permission — in the form of a squeeze on his thigh — before he made his move. With his right hand, he grabbed your chin and tilted your head up to face him. Not realising how close your faces were to each other, his breath hitched at the sight of your beauty.

Christian always knew you were beautiful but seeing you this close stirred his belly into uncharted territory. Sensing his hesitation, you gave him a reassuring smile and tilted your head higher until your lips met his. Christian was too shocked to respond back straight away, only relaxing and melting into the kiss when he felt you slide your hands up to his neck, pulling him closer.

Christian tilted your head a bit more and deepened the kiss. His left arm moved to grab your hip, sliding you even closer that you were almost on his lap. Before either of you knew it, you were making out in front of all the guests, only stopping when Gray called for your attention.

“Wow, you two are really a thing now, hm?” Gray laughed. “Shit, I owe Jay fifty bucks.”

“You bet you do,” Jay snickered. “I’m not letting you out of it just because it’s your birthday.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Gray shook his head. “That was one hell of a kiss. No guy would dare to look twice at your girl now.”

“One hell of a kiss, alright,” Christian chuckled, planting a soft kiss on your temple. “Lucky me.”

* * *

The rest of the night was spent with questions thrown your way, with you and Christian answering them between gentle kisses and subtle touches. It got easier to be affectionate with each other as the night went on — the awkwardness and hesitation gone after that first kiss. Overall, you considered the night a success.

“So, what’s next?” you asked as soon as Christian walked you up to your apartment. 

“Hm, we don’t have anything till your event this coming weekend, but we still need to be seen. So, maybe a few dinners this week?”

“Sounds good to me,” you giggled. “I never say no to free food.”

Christian smiled, he loved hearing you laugh. “Dinner after work tomorrow, okay?”

You nodded your consent and Christian bid you farewell with a chaste kiss on your forehead, leaving you standing there dumbfounded.

Christian smirked all the way back to his car, loving the fact that he affected you as much as you affected him.


	6. 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for the long wait! I am intending to finish the story so hopefully the gap between the next few chapters isn't as big as the last one :)

_ Save. Exit. Shut Down.  _

Stretching his arms, Christian finally called it a night after hours and hours of editing Dabin’s new music video. He was on a roll and the only thing that had let him know that it was time to finish was the soreness of his body and the grumble in his tummy. Standing up, he grabbed his leather jacket from the couch and he exited his office in search of you; he did owe you a date after all.

A small smile appeared on his face as he saw the light that crept out between the gap of the door and the floor of your office, signaling that you were in fact still in there. Christian was afraid that he had missed you and the chance to take you out. Knocking on the door, he waited until he heard your soft voice say ‘ _ come in _ ’ before he entered your office. 

_ Adorable. _ That was the word that first came to his mind at the sight of you in front of him. Dressed in an over sized sweater with your hair up in a messy bun and a pencil caught between your teeth as you typed furiously on the keyboard, Christian always thought you were most beautiful like this — when you were in your element. 

“You almost done?” he asked as he sat on the chair on the other side of your desk.

A yawn slipped past your lips as you stretched your limbs. The report Scott asked from you was nowhere near finished but you thought the rest of it could wait. “What’s up?” you asked, leaning back on your armchair as you faced him.

“We were supposed to go out on a date tonight,” Christian reminded you with a chuckle as he rubbed the tiredness away from his face.

With widened eyes, you turned toward the clock in your office and noticed that it was already one in the morning. “Shit, I’m sorry,” you replied. “I was so into this report that it slipped my mind.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Christian smiled at you. “Clearly, I forgot too. But, I have a plan.”

“Let’s hear it.”

The first part of Christian’s plan involved going out for ramyeon as soon as possible. Considering the amount of times both of your stomachs have called out for sustenance throughout the whole conversation, you had no objections to it. However, the second part of his plan involved going out on a date the day after — the whole day — and you protested after thinking about all the work you still had to do.

But, Christian wasn’t taking no for an answer. “That report for Scott isn’t due until next week,” he pointed out. “I haven’t added anything on your plate. Besides, we’ll be sort of working tomorrow anyway.”

“How so?”

“I haven’t figured that out yet,” Christian laughed and you laughed with him.

Admittedly, Christian’s offer was tempting considering the fact that you had always been curious about his thought process when it came to work, but you had to think about the others too, and whether they would need you around tomorrow.

“I don’t know,” you sighed. “What if the guys need me tomorrow?”

Christian rolled his eyes and leaned his arms on your desk. “Okay, first of all, you’re  _ my _ assistant,” he pointed out. “If anyone needs you tomorrow, it’s me. Secondly, we still need to be seen, remember?”

After mulling over what he had said, you realised that he was right, on both parts. With Christian prepared to counter all your objections, you knew that the only thing left for you to do was yes. “Okay, fine. Let’s do it.”

* * *

Truth be told, you were surprised to be up and ready so early in the morning, considering how late you and Christian got in last night. You had lost track of time as you ate and caught up with each other by the Han River. Once you had both realised how late it was, Christian quickly took you home so you could get some rest for what he had planned for the pair of you.

Guessing that it was due to the excitement of what the date could bring, you took a sip of your coffee as you thought how smoothly fake-dating Christian had gone so far. Even though it had only been two so-called dates so far, they had both gone off without a hitch. There was no awkwardness in sight and you would even go as far as saying that everything had felt…  _ real. _

The subtle touches and kisses that you’d both shared almost came naturally and this was evident to you last night. Even though you both knew that there wasn’t anyone around the Han River at two in the morning, you still managed to hold hands and share a peck here and there, without any prompting. The two of you gravitated to each other instinctively and it left you unsure of what you were feeling.

Thankfully, before you could question yourself any further, Christian’s familiar knocking pattern broke through your thoughts. Running back to your mirror, you quickly double checked your outfit one last time before going to answer the door. He had warned you last night just to dress casually since you’d also be working, so you settled for an overly large black crew neck that you had tucked into your black skinny jeans, along with your black runners. 

“Morning  _ babe, _ ” Christian greeted with an offered hand as you opened the door. “Shall we?”

“Yes, we shall,” you reached for his hand before adding, “ _ Babe. _ ”

“Is it weird that I like it?” Christian asked with a tilt of his head as you descended the stairs. You knew he was referring to the use of a term of endearment.

“No, because I like it too.”

“Good.”

As you exited your apartment building, your eyes roamed the car park in search of his car but found it missing. Realisation dawned on you and you halted in your tracks as anxiety coursed through your body. Sensing your hesitation, Christian stood in front of you and held your face in his hands.

“Yes, we’re going on my bike,” he confirmed your suspicions. Lucky he was holding you in place, otherwise you would have run for the hills already. “It’s completely safe, I promise. It’s going to be fine.”

“Christian, I’m not sure—”

“ _ Do you trust me? _ ” he questioned and your eyes immediately shot up to meet his.

“Of course, I do,” you nodded and resigned yourself to your fate, knowing full well that Christian would end up convincing you soon enough anyway.

“I promise that I won’t let anything happen to you,” he assured you once more as he led you to his bike. 

As you neared Christian’s bike, you noticed that there was a separate helmet next to his — that sent butterflies fluttering about in your belly — along with a gift bag next to it. “What is that?” you asked when your curiosity got the better of you.

Beaming with pride, Christian reached for the bag and handed it to you. “That is my first boyfriend purchase for you,” he informed you with wiggling eyebrows.

Curiously, you peeked into the bag to find out what he had bought you and spotted nothing but a black, leather— “ _ Oh my god, did you buy me a riding jacket?!? _ ”

“Yeah, I did,” Christian laughed nervously; hand scratching the back of his neck. “It’ll give you extra protection and… you can match with me?”

“Cute,” you pinched his cheeks, but before you pulled your hand back, Christian grabbed your hand and used it to pull you closer to him.

“Do you like it?” he asked as his hands gripped your waist.

“I love it,” you replied before leaning in to place a chaste kiss on his lips.\

The kiss was brief — and was far too quick for Christian’s liking. Leaning in, he met your lips again, firmer this time, and he couldn’t help the groan that resonated from his chest when you wrapped your arm around his neck and kissed him back. Reluctantly, Christian pulled back eventually, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to stop kissing you the longer you both kept at it.

Weirdly enough, he had no objections with that.

“We better get going,” Christian sighed against your lips and kissed you one last time. “We have a big day ahead of us.”

“We do,” you breathed out, and closed your eyes to try and regain yourself. Christian almost kissed you again then. “We should definitely get going.”

Before Christian’s thoughts could wander off again about why the whole arrangement affected him so much, he pulled back and turned to grab your helmet. Smoothing your hair down in place, he placed the helmet on your head and fastened it for you. 

“How do I look?” you asked as you pretended to model in front of him.

“Adorable,” Christian mumbled, more to himself.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that,” you teased.

Christian shook his head before donning his own helmet on and mounting the bike. Grabbing the gift bag from you, he removed the jacket and handed it over to you to put on. Once you were all zipped up, Christian offered his hand and assisted you on mounting the bike behind him.

“Where am I supposed to hold on to?” you asked curiously as you looked around for a handle of some sort.

With a laugh, Christian turned slightly so he could reach for your hands. Tugging a little, you felt your body slip forward until you hit him square on the back with an ‘ _ oomph’ _ . Laughing again, Christian pulled your arms and wrapped it around his middle.

“ _ Is this necessary? _ ” you spluttered from behind him.

Christian couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face at how adorable you were being. “We’ve literally kissed about a handful of times now and you’re all flustered because of this?” he asked curiously. “We’ve hugged plenty of times before you dork— ow!  _ Ow! _ Okay, okay!”

Once you were done playfully hitting him, you wrapped your arms around him again tentatively, conscious of the feel of his taut muscles under his shirt. “Okay, I’m ready,” you informed him. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

“Hold on tight,  _ babe, _ ” Christian smirked as the machine roared to life. “Time to go on an adventure.”

* * *

After dropping you off home at the end of the day, Christian headed back to his makeshift office in his apartment to look through the footage that he had captured during your ‘working date’. The date was nothing short of perfect and he couldn’t have asked anything more. The pair of you had a ton of fun and he was glad that you were game for everything he had planned for the day.

From breakfast at one of his favourite cafes to heading off to a field filled with flowers that he had scouted to use for one of Dabin’s music videos; the way your face lit up as you ran across the field was something Christian was going to etch into his memory forever. Then, he offered to take you to your favourite restaurant for lunch — which scored him more points — before taking you to the last location he scouted, a lookout that overlooked the whole city, so that you could both capture the sunset. 

As you stood by the railing that was right up against the edge of the lookout, Christian couldn’t keep his eyes away from your beaming face. There was something about how happy you looked and the fact that he had something to do with it that brought the butterflies fluttering back, and he just knew that this was a feeling that he wouldn’t mind going through every day. Pulling his camera out, he captured the sight in front of him, and it wasn’t the view of the city.

To top it all off, one of Soyeon’s friends had spotted the pair of you at dinner. Neither of you noticed anything at first — choosing to spend the meal recapping the best parts of your date — until Christian received a text message from the friend who had been inquiring who you were. Choosing to ignore it, he placed the phone back on the table before leaning over to kiss you square on the lips mid conversation, knowing that by now, you weren’t going to be weirded out by it. 

You pushed him away, whining at the fact that he had cut you off. Smirking, Christian had grabbed your hand and pulled you onto his side so he could continue kissing you. At this point, he wasn’t sure if he was still doing this for show or for another reason, but as your lips melded together perfectly, he couldn't find it in himself to care.

Grinning, Christian sat on his work chair and looked toward the view by his window. Try as he might, he couldn’t seem to get you out of his mind. Biting his lip to stop his grin, he sat back and continuously banged his head against the back of his chair to try and get himself out of this stupor. Rubbing his face, he shook his head before getting his camera and plugged it into the computer. 

Once the content of his memory card had transferred to the computer, Christian stretched his muscles as he prepared himself to work for the rest of the night. Knowing he had far too much fun today, he knew that his work would be cut out for him. The pictures he took opened up to the screen in front of him and as he scrolled through them, he knew he was in much more trouble than originally thought.

Every single one of his pictures were of you. Out of a hundred photos that he took, every single one of them had you in it. Sighing, he sat back on his chair in hopes that he could make sense of what this meant, though he knew, that if he searched deep down, he would know the answer. 

Christian wasn’t sure he was ready to find out.

_ Save. Exit. Shut Down. _


	7. 7

To say that you were nervous was an understatement. Pacing around the room, you were a wreck and on the verge of a breakdown.

At a loss, you sat down on your couch and weighed out your options one by one. Would you attend without Christian and endure the torturous night with your sister on your own so that Christian would never find out the truth? Or would you still attend with Christian and continue with your arrangement even though you knew what was going to happen as soon as Christian spotted Hyunsik?

Either way, you realised that you were doomed. The only way you were getting out of this event unscathed was if you didn’t attend. Realisation dawned on you then and you couldn’t believe you hadn’t considered the option of not attending. Just as you were about to go through the consequences of your non-attendance, a familiar knock on your door broke you out of your thoughts. 

_ Shit, Christian was here already. _

Frantic, you tried to come up with a list of excuses as to why you weren’t ready yet but you knew that he wouldn’t buy any of it. Christian would see right through you like he always did. Resigning to your fate, you stood up with a sigh and opened your door for him. 

“Did I get the date wrong?” Christian asked confused, after spotting you still sporting your home clothes.

“No, you didn’t,” you answered, stepping aside and gesturing for him to come in. “I’m just trying to come up with a plan.”

“A plan for what?” he implied as he sat on your couch, patting the spot next to him for you to take. 

Following suit, you sat beside him as prompted and buried your head in your hands. “A plan for us to no longer attend the wedding.”

“Wait, what? Why?”

His question almost pushed you over the edge; the dam was close to breaking. Closing your eyes, you gathered up all of your strength and tried to keep it together. You were close to revealing everything to Christian — and god, did you want to — but you didn’t know if you had the strength to go through with it.

Suddenly, you felt Christian’s arm wrap around your shoulders and allowed him to draw you into him. His now familiar touch was welcome as you felt the relief wash through you in waves. On their own accord, your hands moved up to grasp the lapels of his blazer, clinging on to it — to  _ him _ — like he was your lifeline. This spurred Christian to pull you even closer to him, fully embracing you now as he planted kisses in your hair.

“I can’t even imagine what you are going through,” he whispered against your temple. “But, I want you to know that you’re not alone anymore. I’m here and I want to help, if you’d let me.”

Christian’s words provided you with the courage and the comfort that you desperately needed. Pulling back, you cupped his face, searching for any sign of hesitance but found nothing except his sheer determination. With a deep breath, you opened your mouth to speak but suddenly an incessant beeping noise filled the room, immediately making you swallow your words.

Grabbing your phone, you turned it over and paled at the message from your mother.

> **mother:** please, don’t forget your promise

She made the decision for you.

“I should get ready,” you feigned laughter, then stood up and headed to your room, leaving Christian with more questions than answers. 

Leaning back on your couch as he waited, Christian couldn’t help but feel stumped. The person that was just sitting next to him was definitely you, and yet a completely different person to the one that he had spent the week with. You had turned a full one eighty and he had no idea what had happened. Did he do or say something wrong? Or was it about something completely unrelated?

All Christian knew was that he didn’t like the uneasy feeling that was brewing in his belly. The last time he’d seen you like this was when your ex— of course,  _ your ex. _ How could he have forgotten? That was the reason you had agreed to this whole arrangement after all. It was only natural that you would feel apprehensive about seeing him at the events.

His theory was proven right as you came out of your room and said, “Listen, you don’t have to come tonight. I can manage—”

“No, you can’t,” Christian said gently. “Nor do you have to manage on your own. You have me. It’ll be okay.”

_ God, you wished you could believe him. _ You wanted to convince him even further to back out of the arrangement but fate was knocking on your door and you were out of time. With a nod, you returned his smile as best you could, before allowing him to lead you out of your apartment, so that you could start making your way to where your family was waiting.

* * *

After parking his car, Christian turned to face you in concern. The whole ride to the restaurant you had been quiet, only providing him with one word answers before eventually tuning him out. In any other circumstance, he would have been mad at you but there was something about how empty your eyes looked as you stared out the window, that told him that there was something else going on.

“We’re here,” he announced softly as he carefully placed his hand on your shoulder, finally breaking you away from your trance. “What is the event for again?”

“We’re meeting the in-laws,” you replied apprehensively.

“Listen, it’s going to be okay—”

“I really don’t think that it’s going to be.”

“Will you tell me what’s going on?” Christian could no longer help but feel a little frustrated. He wanted to be able to help you but he couldn’t do that when he could see you putting up your walls higher every second.

“I want to tell you,” you revealed as a stray tear rolled down your cheek.

Christian cupped your face and brushed the tear away with his thumb. “Then, tell me. I want to help you.”

“Listen, Hani’s fiance is—”

“You’re here,” your mother exclaimed from the front of the restaurant, interrupting you just like before.

Reluctantly, Christian let you go and unbuckled your seat belt for you. Once you were both out of the car, he wrapped his arm around you as a means of support as you approached your awaiting mother.

“Hi, mom,” you greeted. “Sorry, we got caught up in some traffic. This is my boyfriend, Christian.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” your mother smiled. “We’ve heard so much about you.” 

“All good things, I hope,” Christian tried his best to smile though he was disappointed that you couldn’t say what you needed to say.

As it turned out, Christian didn’t need to wait for much longer since your sister walked out of the restaurant, with who he assumed to be her fiance in tow. The way she had her arm wrapped around the male certainly made it seem like he was her partner, but Christian couldn’t help the confusion and the wrath building inside of him.

Christian would recognise that man from anywhere. He could never forget that face even if he wanted to.

“I asked you not to be late,” Hani scolded you, but you couldn’t care less. You knew Christian had spotted Hyunsik by the way his hand was harshly gripping your shoulder.

Wanting to avoid a scene, you quickly bowed in apology to her and turned to face Christian, hoping to grab his attention. “Christian, let me introduce you to my sister and her fiance.”

Christian swiftly whipped his head and turned his attention to you. With narrowed eyes, he leaned in closer to ensure he was out of earshot. “I don’t need to be introduced to that  _ bastard _ ,” he hissed. “I know exactly who that is and I’m going to pound him to dust in the next second.”

“You can’t,” you pleaded. “He is my sister’s fiance now.”

“How could you let your sister marry someone like him? I know you both hate each other but—”

“ _ She didn’t ask for my permission _ ,” you hissed back, close to tears and suddenly, everything fell into place for Christian.

Everything that you had ever told him about your ex-boyfriend came to the surface. Now, he really wanted to hurt that bastard even more. Deciding that you needed to take drastic action to distract him, you grabbed him by the lapels of his blazer and brought him closer to you so you could kiss him. It worked.

Christian pulled away first and leaned his forehead against yours. “You’re telling me everything later,” he commanded in a whisper and you nodded before introducing him.

“Hani, this is my boyfriend Christian,” you said and took a deep breath as you continued. “Christian, this is my sister Hani and her fiance, Hyunsik.”

Christian gave the man in front of him a hard stare as he tried to think of a hundred different ways to hurt him. A gentle squeeze on his hand brought him back to reality and he squeezed back as he shook the man’s outstretched hand with his other. 

“Wow, that’s a firm handshake you got there,” Hyunsik chuckled when he got his hand back. “Sorry, what was your name again?”

“Christian.”

“How come she’s never mentioned you before?”

“ _ Because she knew I would kill you _ ,” Christian mumbled to himself, poking his tongue in his cheek.

“What was that?”

You felt the tension growing so you knew you had to do something to diffuse it. “We should go inside. We don’t want to run late, hm?”

Luckily, everyone agreed and headed inside the restaurant. For once, you were thankful for your sister’s hatred toward you because it meant that she had sat you and Christian on the other side of the room. You no longer had to worry about Christian and Hyunsik butting heads. 

The rest of the dinner went off without a hitch. All of your family absolutely loved Christian. Throughout the night, he made sure to be more attentive and affectionate towards you but you weren’t sure if he was doing it to show Hyunsik how much he fucked up — which was the original plan — or because he genuinely wanted to make sure you were okay. 

Either way, you were appreciative of his efforts.

* * *

The drive home was quiet. Neither of you spoke and the only sounds that could be heard were the faint music playing in the background along with the traffic outside. The two of you stole glances at each other and at one point, Christian even opened his mouth to speak to you but no words would come out.

It wasn’t long until Christian pulled into the parking lot of your apartment building and turned off his car. “Are you okay?” he finally asked.

It took a moment for you to pluck up the courage to look at him. “I will be,” you sighed. “I suppose now would be the time for explanations?”

“Only if you are up for it,” Christian reached out for your hand to reassure you. “I know tonight would have been taxing on you and as much as I’d like to know what the hell is going on, your well being comes first to me.”

Your heart couldn’t help but flutter at his words.  _ God, Soyeon was an idiot for letting him go. _ “Thank you for your concern,” you smiled genuinely at him. “But, we should get this over with before I chicken out and never tell you anything.”

Squeezing his hand that held yours, you made your move to get out of the car and Christian quickly followed. You made your way up to your apartment since this was a conversation you would rather have in the comforts of your own home.

This was the first time you were going to talk about your past since the last time. The only other person you had told was Dabin and that was years ago. You weren’t sure if you were ready but you knew that it wasn’t fair on Christian if he didn’t know what he was dealing with.

It was time to reopen your wounds and to heal them for good.

_ Could Christian help you find the cure? _

You didn’t know… but you were ready to find out.


	8. 8

Once you were in your humble abode, you offered for Christian to make himself at home as you made your way to the kitchen to brew some coffee. Too busy being in your own head, you hadn’t noticed that Christian came into the kitchen, observing as you tried to make the hot drink with trembling hands. With a sigh, Christian approached you from behind and grabbed your hands, startling you out of your thoughts for the second time that night.

“Are you okay?” Christian asked in concern. “You’re shaking. Let me do this. You should go and have a seat.”

“I’m sorry,” you replied meekly.

“Don’t be, I totally get it. You’ve had a rough night.”

“It’s only going to get rougher.”

Turning to face you, Christian engulfed you in his strong arms and planted a kiss on your temple. “We really don’t have to do this tonight,” he assured you. “I can wait for a better time.”

Shaking your head, you grabbed his coffee and handed it to him. Then, you grabbed yours along with his free hand, leading him to settle on the couch. “It’s better to get it over with now,” you stated after taking a sip of your coffee.

_ Here goes nothing. _

Digging through your memories, you went all the way back to the times you had spent with Hyunsik. Deciding that Christian didn’t need to know about all the other boring details like how you met Hyunsik and who asked who out, you skipped straight to the part when he broke your heart. Intently, Christian listened as you talked about the moment you thought that Hyunsik was the one; the one you were going to spend the rest of your life with. Hyunsik had been nothing but kind to you then and had loved you so much, so after years of being together, you were finally going to introduce him to your family.

That was where it all went wrong.

Hani was the first person that you had introduced to Hyunsik. Being sisters, you were naturally close and you knew she would tell you honestly if she didn’t believe that he was the one for you. To your surprise, they got along swimmingly and you were thankful for it at first. But, you soon came to learn how naive you had been.

“It happened when we flew to London,” you smiled sadly at Christian. “While we were busy working our asses off for Dabin’s video, Hyunsik was busy getting it on with my sister.”

Christian scooted closer to you and grabbed your hand, letting you know that he was there for you. “How did you find out?” he asked warily.

“I received a message from my mother as soon as we landed, saying that Hani had a nice surprise for us. Oh, it was a nice surprise alright, since I arrived home to her introducing Hyunsik as her boyfriend.”

The dam finally broke and Christian gathered you in his arms. Placing you on his lap, he embraced you and rubbed circles on your back to try and soothe you. It was all he could do as he waited for you to continue.

“I tried to protest… to reveal the truth,” you said through your sobs. “But, my parents caught them kissing on the couch. It was all my fault. I should’ve introduced him sooner—”

“No, listen to me,” Christian cupped your face and made you look at him. “None of this is your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t deserve this—”

“Hani said I did.”

“What?”

Looking down, you sat there, clutching at the hem of your dress. Hani’s words echoed in your mind and you shut your eyes to quieten them down. Proving unsuccessful, you knew that you had to finally let them all out.

“She said I deserved it for being such a horrible sister,” you replied. “Apparently, I left her behind and she was tired of living in my shadows. Hani getting with Hyunsik was my punishment.”

“That is fucked up on so many levels,” Christian bristled. “And what was the asshole’s excuse?”

With a sigh, you leaned your head on his chest. “He was jealous,” you whispered. “He said I spent too much time at work with you guys. So, he flirted with Hani on purpose and then one thing led to another…”

Christian was furious, you could tell from the way his hands balled up into fists and from the way his body started to tremble. This time, it was your turn to try and relax him so you grabbed his face and littered it with kisses.

“This isn’t gonna stop me from beating him up,” he murmured before capturing your lips in a chaste kiss.

“It did today,” you countered as you met his lips again. “Every time you have that nagging feeling of wanting to hit him, I’m going to know and I’m going to kiss you to stop you. You don’t need to get your hands dirty for me.”

Christian reached for your hands and brought them close to his lips so that he could kiss the back of them. “Yet, I would in a heartbeat,” he whispered against your skin before meeting your gaze. “You don’t have to do this alone anymore. You have me, no matter what. I promise to help you get through this.”

Overwhelmed by his words and by all of the emotions that you had gone through that night, the dam broke for the second time. Christian held you close as sobs wracked your body, whispering his promise over and over again. Once you had finally calmed and your sobs started to turn into soft whimpers, he pulled away and cupped your face. “Okay, that’s it,” he declared. “This is the last time you are going to cry because of that bastard and I refuse to let him ruin our night like this.”

Agreeing with him, you wiped your tears away and nodded. “What did you have in mind?”

“Want to go for a drive?”

* * *

As soon as Christian pulled up to the lookout, you bounded out of the car and headed straight to the railing. Taking a quick glance at the city lights below, you then closed your eyes and smiled as the breeze flew by, allowing it to take your worries away with it. With a smile, Christian quickly followed suit and stood right next to you.

Just like before, Christian’s eyes were locked on you. It was almost second nature for him to do so. Even as you opened your eyes to finally take in the view, his eyes continued to be fixated on you. The longer he looked at you, the more the feelings that he tried to bury fought to rise to the surface. With that, Christian began to realise that his feelings for you were real…

...and that he was tired of fighting it.

Taking a deep breath, Christian reached out for you with trembling hands, turning your face towards him. A question on his actions almost slipped past your lips but he’d beaten you the punch with a question of his own. “May I?” he asked as he inched closer, just stopping shy of his lips touching your own. 

Christian was almost there, so close you feel the ghost of his lips and his breath fanning your face. In a haze, you closed your eyes, not caring if he was doing this for show as you silently chased after his mouth. Frustrated at his teasing, you chose to answer his question with your actions instead of your words. Securing your hands behind his neck, you pulled him in and finally crashed your lips together.

The kiss was far from soft and gentle. It was full of passion, hunger and need. Neither of you let up, choosing to push the gravity of the situation to the furthest corners of your minds. Tilting your head, Christian swiped at your bottom lip and you allowed his tongue entry. Sliding his hands down your sides to grip at your waist, Christian brought you closer to him as your tongues continued to dance together.

The kisses you both shared became hotter and hungrier but before you could reach a point of no return, Christian’s phone echoed through the quiet night, breaking you from your stupor. Reluctantly, he slowed down the kiss before reaching for his phone.

“Hello?” he groaned in answer as he rested his forehead on yours. You could tell from the voice that was pouring out of the phone that he was speaking with Dabin. “Yes, the dinner was fine. We’re just at the lookout. Shit, are you serious? Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Is everything okay?” you asked worriedly, once he’d hung up. 

“I need to take you home,” he sighed. “One of the deals that Scott was working on is about to fall through. I have to head in to do some damage control.”

“What?” you gasped. “That’s horrible. I’ll come with you to help.”

Grabbing your hand, Christian kissed the back of it once more before leading you back to his car. “You’ve been through enough tonight,” Christian spoke as he drove. “You need to rest because I’m sure you’ll be needed to go through some more reports soon. We’ll be able to handle it tonight, don’t worry.”

Kissing you goodnight as he dropped you off at your doorstep, you had wanted to believe that Christian was right; that there would really be nothing to worry about. But, something deep in your gut told you that it wouldn’t be the case. When the morning came, you would soon find out that you were right, when you woke to read the text message you received while deep in your slumber.

> **Soyeon:** we need to talk


	9. 9

**[ 00:30 ] soyeon:** we need to talk

Out of all the things that you were expecting as a result of everything that happened last night, that was not one of them. Sure that you were still dreaming, you tried many different ways to check whether you were in fact, awake. After rubbing the sleep away from your eyes profusely, pinching and slapping yourself, the outcome was the same. The message from Soyeon still sat in your inbox, staring you right in the face.

In the shower, where you did most of your thinking, you tried to come up with a bunch of reasons as to why Soyeon would want to talk to you. The obvious reason would be that the news of your coupling with Christian had finally reached her ears, but you couldn’t fathom why she would contact you. Why wouldn’t she go to Christian directly?

Sighing, you stepped out of the shower knowing that the answer was no longer to be found in there. Wrapping the towel tight around your body, you reached for your phone and made your choice.

**[ 9:00 ] you:** meet me at the rusty flute in an hour.

* * *

As you entered the familiar cafe, you spotted Soyeon sitting by one of the booths near the back. You were thankful for the spot she had chosen, glad that you were away from keen ears and prying eyes so that the two of you could actually have a decent chat. As you arrived by the booth, you noticed that she’d already bought you your coffee.

You’d barely sat down before Soyeon started speaking. “We both hate beating around the bush, so let’s just get this over with,” she stated as you both sipped your warm beverages. “What’s going on between you and Christian?”

It was really no surprise that you were right; she did want to meet about Christian. “Why don’t you ask him?” you countered.

“Oh, I plan to,” Soyeon sneered.

“Then, why didn’t you?”

“I wanted to see what you would say first,” she groaned impatiently. “I need to know whether I need to be bothered by whatever this is that’s going on between the two of you.”

Confused beyond your wits, Soyeon was going to have to explain it to you further if she wanted you to understand what she was saying. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Soyeon rolled her eyes, like you had asked something that was blatantly obvious. “All those years ago, I never saw you as a threat,” she scoffed. “You were merely his  _ assistant _ . Barely even a friend. So, why did he choose you?”

An angry flame was starting to grow in your belly. You weren’t sure yet whether you were angry at the way she belittled you or whether it was the way she had assumed your relationship with Christian. Even before you and Christian got closer through the experience of fake dating, you were already friends. A lot closer than Soyeon had assumed and you wanted her to know it.

“We are a lot closer than you think,” you answered. “Even before we got together. It’s not my fault that you’re blind when it comes to Christian.”

You knew you struck a nerve when her reply was, “Please, the only one blind here is you. Christian is a selfish bastard who only cares about himself. He is a piece of trash.”

“Then, why do you care if we’re dating or not?” you challenged.

“I’m only trying to be a friend to you and try to save you from the heartache I experienced when I was with him.”

Taking a deep breath, you tried your best to calm yourself. Shaking your head, you couldn’t believe what you were hearing. With every word she spoke, it was so hard for you to understand why she stuck around if she always felt that way about Christian. What confused you even more was the fact that she was the person that Christian wanted to win back.  _ She was the person he couldn’t let go of. _

Did Christian know that this was how Soyeon felt about him? Should you tell him? After everything that he had done for you the past few weeks, you wanted to return the favour. However, you didn’t want to overstep. Christian wanted to get back together with Soyeon, who were you to interfere with that?

Soyeon didn’t deserve Christian. So, you decided to go ahead and let her know, hoping that she would change to become someone deserving of him.

“You couldn’t be more wrong about him,” you told her honestly. “Christian is one of the sweetest guys I know and he has the biggest heart. He is passionate and loving. He cares so much about the people he cherishes and would always go out of his way for them. You were so foolish to let someone like him go but I’m glad, because now he’s with me and he is treated the way he deserves.”

Another thing you weren’t expecting was Soyeon laughing at everything that you had just said. “So, you’re in deep, huh?”

“What?”

“Your feelings for him,” she clarified.

_ Feelings? For Christian? What feelings? _

Of course it was only natural for you to think so highly of Christian. Not only was he your boss and someone you admired for his incredible mind and talent, he was also someone you admired for being so kindhearted. He’d proven that to you time and time again during this whole ordeal with Hyunsik.

There was no denying that he was attractive, you weren’t blind after all. But, Christian was more than that, he always was. You knew it — no, you felt it — every time he looked at you, every time he held you and every time he kissed you…

_ Oh. _

_ Oh, shit. _

_ You had feelings for Christian. _

But, Soyeon didn’t need to know that. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you replied, cursing yourself at how weak that sounded.

“Oh, honey,” she smiled falsely. “You wear your heart on your sleeve. It’s so obvious how you feel for him. There’s no doubt that Christian already knows about it. I’d be careful though, you don’t want to come on too strong and scare him off.”

Visibly paling, you started to feel sick. If Soyeon could see how you felt about Christian, there was no doubt in your mind that he could see it too. From the way you could feel your heart starting to shatter, you knew that your arrangement with Christian needed to stop. His actions were only because he was a friend and was pretending to be your boyfriend. You couldn’t allow for it to be more than that.

Especially since the person he loved the most was the one sitting across from you.

“I have to go,” you stood abruptly and turned to leave.

Soyeon smirked, knowing that the insecurity she planted was going to drive you insane. Leaning back in victory, she reached for her phone and sent another text message. This time, she sent one to Christian.

**[ 10:45 ] soyeon:** i want us back together

* * *

Stomping feet and loud huffs were heard throughout the stairwell and hallways of your building as you made your way to your apartment. Slamming the door shut in your wake, you hastily removed your shoes, not bothering to put them away properly before bee-lining to the couch. Grabbing one of the cushions, you shoved it right against your face so that you could scream your frustrations into it.

After what felt like minutes, you finally pried the pillow off of your face, before throwing yourself on the couch. You couldn’t believe the nerve of that woman. Deep down you knew you shouldn’t have bothered meeting up with her, but your curiosity won out like it always did and now you were frustrated beyond belief.

_ How dare she say all those shitty things about Christian? _

_ How dare she say you had feelings for Christian? _

_ Did you really have feelings for Christian? _

Groaning, you pushed yourself off of the couch and dragged your feet towards the kitchen, so that you could raid your fridge for some comfort food. After getting a win by finding some ice cream in the freezer, you grabbed a spoon and walked back over to the living room. You knew that you had a lot of things to think about, but the first item on that list was your apparent feeling for your fake boyfriend.

_ When did you start seeing him differently? _

Was it the night that you rushed over to his house to agree to his fake dating proposal, only for him to be more concerned about your well being than celebrating? Or was it during the first kiss you shared with him at Gray’s birthday where you were sure that you felt butterflies in your belly? Was it during your impromptu date at the Han River at 2am in the morning? Or was it the next day when he took you out for the day and you got to watch him be in his element, while taking you to his favourite places?

Most of all, was it when he was right by your side as you went through one of the hardest days of your life and has continued to help you get through them as he promised?

_ Damn it, you really had fallen for him _ .

What were you going to do about it? Were you going to tell him how you felt or just leave your feelings behind in the shadows?

But, that wasn’t the only thing you needed to think about. What about the fact that he wanted to get back together with Soyeon? What if he didn’t return your feelings?

A small part of you also believed that the way he saw you was different now, but what if you were wrong? Or what if you were right but he still chose to be with Soyeon? Would you accept his decision?

Groaning, you whined and kicked your legs about like a child having a tantrum. You shoved spoonful after spoonful of ice cream in your mouth as you mulled over your options. After thinking of every scenario and every outcome possible, in the end there was only thing you could do.

_ Screw it, you were going to tell him how you felt. _

You were tired of not fighting for what you wanted — for what you deserved. So, you decided to fight for Christian. Besides, Christian didn’t need to have someone like Soyeon in his life. He needed someone better.  _ Someone like you. _

Standing up, you grabbed your shoes and shoved them back on your feet before heading out to see Christian.

_ This was it. _

* * *

Stifling a yawn, Christian stood up and stretched his limbs. He had been in the office trying to sort out the deal which they barely managed to save just moments ago. After rubbing the sleep away from his face, he reached for his phone hoping to see a text from you. However, what greeted him instead was a text from Soyeon.

**[ 10:45 ] soyeon:** i want us back together

With a sigh, he placed his phone face down on his desk and leaned back on his chair. Was it weird that the only feeling he felt upon seeing those words was dread? He had been waiting for this for months even going as far as fake dating you—

_ Ah, that was why _ . Christian understood now. After all the events of last night, he knew that things were now different. He had finally accepted his feelings for you and that was why Soyeon’s message brought on a different reaction than he was expecting.

Christian wasn’t really sure where to go from there and right now he was far too tired to think. All he knew was that he wanted to hear your voice so he picked up his phone again and called you. Unfortunately, he was met by your voicemail so he settled for a text instead before picking up his helmet and riding for home.

**[ 11:10 ] christian:** hey i’m just checking in

**[ 11:10 ] christian:** everything is all good with the deal

**[ 11:11 ] christian:** i’m on my way home now

To his dismay, he arrived at his apartment to find Soyeon waiting for him on the couch.

“I see you haven’t changed the passcode,” she smirked.

“I will be changing it from today,” Christian replied in irritation. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“You didn’t reply to my message,” she answered, just as irritated as him.

“Well, I literally had to spend the whole night at the office trying to sort out some deal and I’m only getting home now, so excuse me for deciding that I would reply to your message once my brain was properly working.” 

Standing up from the couch, she put her hands on hips and raised a single brow at him. “What’s gotten into you?” she questioned. “Just a few weeks ago you were still sending flowers to where I work and begging me to take you back.”

With a sigh, he sat down on one of the stools by his kitchen bench. “Soyeon, things change. You were the one who told me that,” he repeated her words back to her tiredly.

“This is about  _ her _ isn’t it?”

Christian stiffened at her words. “What are you talking about?”

“I met up with  _ her  _ today,” Soyeon revealed as she walked over to him and situated herself between his already spread legs. “We got to talking and I knew she had feelings for you.”

_ What? Was he actually right? Did you really have feelings for him? _

The thought ran circles in his head but Soyeon halted them when she declared, “Look, I know she means nothing to you and that you only got with her to make me jealous. But, I’m here now and you don’t have to pretend anymore. Let her go before she gets hurt and be mine again, just like you wanted.”

There were many things that didn’t sit well with Christian about what just happened. The first was the fact that you had met up with Soyeon. He had many questions about it but they needed to wait as there were more pressing matters at hand. The second was the fact that Soyeon insinuated that you had meant nothing to him and that he would hurt you. Christian’s relationship with you even from the beginning — when you were both just co workers — meant so much to him and there was no way that he would ever hurt you like she said.

But, worst of all, the thing that didn’t sit well with him the most was Soyeon herself.  _ Was this person standing right in front of him really the same person that he was in love with for so many years? _ The person that he thought was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with? Or was this who she really was and he was just blinded by the love he had for her?

Whatever the case was, it didn’t matter. Not anymore. Not when he had feelings for you. The person he loved and cared about was no longer the person that was standing in front of him.

_ It was you. _

“You’re wrong,” Christian told Soyeon.

“About which part?”

“All of it,” he replied determinedly. “She means more to me than you will ever understand and I do have feelings for her.”

“What the fuck are you saying?” Soyeon asked, slightly miffed.

Christian took a deep breath and answered her in words that he knew she would understand, “There’s no more us, Soyeon.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Usually, when those four words were spoken, it meant that something bad followed. Christian was right to think that, especially when Soyeon moved to close the gap between their bodies and between their lips. The whole thing took him completely by surprise and due to his tiredness, it took him awhile to register what was happening and the fact that he had to push her away. 

Unfortunately for Christian, he had moved a moment too late, you had seen everything when you walked into the kitchen after letting yourself in his apartment. Unbeknownst to you and Christian, that was actually why Soyeon had kissed him. She heard the beeping from the keypad on his door and acted accordingly, in case it was you that arrived and she was right. A victorious smirk was plastered on Soyeon’s face as she saw your reflection on the door of the microwave. Cupping Christian’s face, she tilted his head to one side, so that he could look past her head and spot you.

Christian’s eyes widened in shock as he spotted you standing just by the hallway. He opened his mouth to speak but no words would come out.  _ God, this had to be a bad dream. Maybe, you were just a figment of his imagination since he was so tired. Someone needed to wake him up from this nightmare. _

However, you threw him a heartbroken smile and Christian knew that this was far from a dream. This was reality — a reality that he desperately needed to change if he didn’t want to lose you. He wanted to reach for you, hold you in his arms and tell you that what had just happened wasn’t what it seemed and most of all, confess how he felt about you, but he found himself immobile. It was only when you mumbled a pained  _ ‘Congratulations, Christian’  _ before turning to leave, that he managed to finally push Soyeon off of him to chase after you.

You were already almost entering the lift in his building when Christian’s hand wrapped gently around your wrist to pull you back and into his arms. “Please, let me explain,” he pleaded but you shook your head.

“You don’t have to explain anything, Christian,” you assured him as falsely as you could. There was no way he could know how shattered your heart was because he would realise that you had feelings for him and none of that mattered anymore when he was with Soyeon again. “Everything is okay since this is what you wanted, and now, you don’t even have to tell her we were fake dating anymore.”

Christian shook his head vehemently, willing for you to listen to him. “But—”

“Don’t worry about the wedding,” you smiled and pulled your wrist from his grasp. “I will sort something else out. You don’t owe me anything.”

The elevator doors opened once more after you had pressed the button for it but just before you could walk in, Christian desperately asked, “ _ Please _ , give me a chance to explain.”

But, you stepped into the lift and without looking back, you mumbled just loud enough for him to hear, “I can’t.  _ I’m tired of getting my heart broken _ .”

Then, the elevator doors closed again.


End file.
